Guests: Chuck Rocha, Ron Christie, Bill Press, Darren Rovell, Bob Shrum,
Jeffrey Breit, Brent Coon, Virg Bernero
ED SCHULTZ, MSNBC HOST: Good evening, Americans and welcome to THE ED SHOW. Tonight from New York, these stories on the table and hitting my hot buttons at this the hour.
Now, here's a story that I think the White House ought to be paying close attention to. Over 500 fishermen are accusing BP of breaking its promise to pay up. They're looking for answers, not excuses like the check's in the mail. My commentary on that and an exclusive interview with the lawyer who's representing these fishermen who, by the way, are not getting paid. That's coming up in a moment.
And I want to know how President Obama can create jobs and reduce the risk of another oil disaster. The answer is simple and shocking and I'll explain how to do all that coming up.
And Michael Steele comes out of hiding. And he might be running for president in 2012, and Sarah Palin's latest stunt makes it look like she is running in '12. We'll break down the "mama grizzly" video.
And, of course, it's the big night in the NBA. Lebron James is all cranked up, and the world's all cranked up, and every water cooler across America is just filled with employees saying, "What do you think he's going to do? Where's he going to go?"
But I have to tell you what I have found so amusing throughout this whole thing is these sports talk guys, and some of them have been on MSNBC today, so worried about if Lebron James leaves Cleveland that it's going to cost them so many jobs and $4 million in revenue during the season and all these jobs are going to be lost.
Hello. Ohio. China has been in your backyard taking your jobs for the last ten years. So now all of a sudden because some jock strap decides he wants to go play basketball somewhere else, all of a sudden we're worried about jobs in Ohio. Cut me some slack. Will you sports guys pay attention to what's really important in this country, and that is the unemployed? We will be talking about that later on in the program. Let's keep it in perspective.
You know I'm happy about Lebron James You know what, Mike, he's not going to China. At least he's going to be staying in the country, which I think is kind of important.
All right. This is the story that has me fired up tonight, as well. Don't believe all the hype that BP-they're going to be making everybody whole. Hundreds of fishermen on the Gulf Coast from Louisiana to Mississippi, well, they're still waiting for the checks that they were promised from BP. Five hundred plus. That's right. Out of work fishermen.
You see, they had a deal in place to get checks every 30 days, they were supposed to be paid yesterday and, of course, they're still waiting. Waiting because somebody at BP decided to change the process and not tell anybody about it. Now, remember when everybody said people were going to be made whole?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CARL-HENRIC SVANBERG, CHAIRMAN, BRITISH PETROLEUM: We care about the small people. I hear comments sometimes that large oil companies are greedy companies or don't care. But that is not the case in BP. We care about the small people.
SEN. MARY LANDRIEU (D), LOUISIANA: I promise you, we're going to make that old BP pay a lot of money. Billions of dollars. I promise you. We're going to have a big clean-up job, but it's going to get cleaned up.
All right?
UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: Sure.
TONY HAYWARD, CEO, BRITISH PETROLEUM: We will honor all legitimate claims and our clean-up efforts will not come at any cost to taxpayers. To those affected in your families, I'm deeply sorry.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: Oh, and so are the fishermen that aren't getting paid. I had my doubts about this from day one, and I was talking about it weeks ago. They've got this $20 billion escrow fund that's supposed to be set up to help out and pay all these people. Guess what? It means nothing unless you know how to use it. Of course, compensations are-Ken Feinberg, he said it was going to be relatively an easy and simple process. It sounded to me just too good to be true.
How can the process work when BP is giving all kinds of conflicting information about how folks are going to get paid? Now, if there is one thing you've got to give BP credit about being consistent on, it is conflicting reports. As the fishermen wait, Bob Dudley, the suit, the empty suit, who took over for Tony Hayward because he had to go get his life back. He's out talking about BP's plan for growth and what they can do for the shareholders.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BOB DUDLEY, MANAGING DIRECTOR, BRITISH PETROLEUM: We've set up this organization in the US as Gulf Coast Restoration Organization not to contain any liabilities, but to demonstrate that commitment, very long-term, to funneling it resources to meet our commitments in the US. We have shareholders and investors. We need to shore up our liquidity. We need to bring some cash into the company to make sure we can meet those commitments.
We will be selling non-core assets internationally. But I think people should take comfort for that. It's going to be a strong company. We want to make sure we can meet our commitments and then rebuild the company to be able to grow for success.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: And we need to screw the fishermen. The shareholders. Now, these are the people that BP really cares about. I don't think they give a damn about the people in the Gulf, personally. They care about the money. The color of oil is green. They care about pleasing the people that keep lining their pockets.
BP doesn't have the money to pay the fishermen. But they are still finding plenty of dough to crank out the commercials.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DARRELL WILLIS, BRITISH PETROLEUM: I'm Darrell Willis. I oversee BP's claims process on the Gulf Coast. BP has got to make things right, and that's why we're here. We're replacing the lost income for fishermen, small businessmen, and other who's aren't able to work until the spill is cleaned up.
I was born and rise raised in Louisiana. I volunteered for this assignment because this is my home. I'll be here in the Gulf as long as it takes to make this right.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: Now, I'm not picking this guy who did this commercial, but I find it rather interesting that he said that he volunteered for this assignment. Hell, he's not even getting paid either!
BP is pushing to plug the damn hole by what, July 267th? Which would be weeks ahead of the deadline that the company had predicted earlier. The company now says that they are ahead of schedule with these relief wells.
And normally, I would never believe a word these folks say at the corporate level with BP, but something kind of tells me that they just might get this thing plugged by that date. You know why? Because it happens to be the same day BP is due to speak with their investors and report their second quarter earnings. And it is all about the money.
And I think the White House needs to pay attention to this, because this country was focused on this alleged shakedown of BP, and it went all the way to the hearings in the hall of of Congress. It was almost a ten-day story about how President Obama was shaking down BP. Well, I'll tell you what, as far as those fishermen are concerned, they think the shakedown is pretty damn short.
Let me tell-I have to say one more thing about this. Where are the president's advisers? They ought to be on this tonight. But they have taken on the same attitude as the leadership of the Democratic party. Whoo, that's a hot potato. We can't touch that one yet.
The White House ought to be screaming about late payments to these folks. One trip, two trip, three trip, four trips down to the Gulf telling everybody they're working hard on it. No. You can't be late. You can't be late and hold your credibility.
Tell me what you think in our telephone survey tonight, folks. The number is dial is 1-877-ED-MSNBC. My question tonight is, "Who does BP really care about?" Press 1 for "the shareholders," press 2 for "the residents of the Gulf." I'll bring you the results later on in the show.
Now, this story continues and it continues with the attorney Jeff Breit, who is representing more than 500 fishermen who claim that they have not been paid. Mr. Breit, good to have you with us tonight. I appreciate your time. Tell us-
JEFFREY BREIT, ATTORNEY REPRESENTING FISHERMEN: Thank you very much.
SCHULTZ: You bet. What happened? What happened here?
BREIT: Well, I have about 500 fishermen who were promised to get paid yesterday, 30 days after their first check. The families and the fishermen counted on that money. They budget themselves for that money. And yesterday afternoon, they called me and said they weren't going to give the money because they were changing the process. They wanted to change the way that people prove their losses. And they left 500 families without a paycheck this weekend.
SCHULTZ: Change. What kind of change? This sounds like a diversion to me. What do you make of it?
BREIT: Well, it could be a diversion. I can't get into BP's head. We think that they're changing the process to have these fishermen try to prove actual losses versus the estimates that they've been able to do since April 20th. The problem with actual losses is these fishermen don't keep records like companies. They can't really tell their actual losses until the end of the season. And so the change is a big change for them, because the type of documentation they need to prove actual losses, it could be hard to come by. In the meantime, this weekend-
SCHUTLZ: Mr. Breit, wouldn't the case be made, all you've got to do is look at their tax return last year and make them whole based on what they did last year? What's wrong with that?
BREIT: The problem with just looking at the tax returns are that some of the people have caught a lot of fish, but they aren't getting paid the same amount of money. Some people are not catching the same amount of fish.
Remember, 90 percent of these fishing grounds have been shut down. I don't see why they need anything else other than that to show these people have losses. And to tell these people, which is the bigger problem, "We gave you $2500 on June 7th, we will give you $2500 on July 7th," and then just stop the payment? No warning, no notice? How are these families going to pay their bills this weekend? Their mortgages, their car payments, and their food? That's who I care about.
SCHULTZ: And you should, and you're doing a great job. But did I hear you say $2500? We're talking-
BREIT: Well, that's-
SCHULTZ: $2500 for 500 fishermen?
BREIT: Well, most of the people that I represent are getting $2500 a month, or were getting $2500 a month. The captains were getting $5,000 a month, which was BP's way of estimating what these losses are. In fact, a number of these people have much greater losses than that, and now we're trying to come up with the documentation that BP wants.
We called this morning and said what do you want? What changes do you want in documentation? The claims office honestly doesn't know. And that's the bigger problem.
SCHULTZ: I hope the White House is listening. This is what people are dealing with. It's an amazing story. Mr. Breit, I've got to ask you to come back. We're going to stay on this story, and I want to know what changes BP-I think this is the biggest story about there. It's about human lives. It's about people who have got to be made whole after they've been told by their elected officials that they would be made whole. Mr. Breit, keep up the good work. I appreciate your time.
BREIT: Thank you. You come back and find me.
SCHULTZ: Absolutely.
BREIT: I appreciate it.
SCHULTZ: I will certainly do that.
For more on these claims, let me bring in attorney Brent Coon. He successfully sued BP back in 2005 after a refinery explosion in Texas. He has been involved in current lawsuits against the company.
Brent, good to see you. Gosh, have you heard this story before?
BRENT COON, ATTORNEY: Every day, Ed.
SCHULTZ: This is standard operating procedure. Can they expect that this is the way it's going to go?
COON: It is SOP for BP. It always has been, and we warned early on that a lot of moneys that BP was putting out early was street money, or public relations money. And that if they still continued and the damages escalated, that they would tighten the purse strings because they were losing value and the public relations benefit of paying these poor shrimpers and fishermen.
SCHULTZ: Now, certainly, it could have been a front office screw-up, lack of detail, an oversight. No, no, no, no. You think that this is planned all along by BP in the front office.
COON: Most definitely do. We saw the same MO applied in the Texas City litigation and other litigation we've been involved in with them. This has all been a public relations stunt. They apologize, they act contrite. But the reality is-and I pushed number 1 -- the reality is, this is all a shareholder deal. It's all about retaining assets and equity to the shareholders to the best they can.
SCHULTZ: OK. Now, July 27th is the date they're now saying that they may have the hole plugged. I find it interesting because that's the day they report their second quarter earnings. Anything to that? What do you think?
COON: Well, I think you already said it by drawing the parallels, Ed. It's pretty obvious what the reason for that is. It also times with the visit from the prime minister to the United States.
SCHULTZ: Yes. Brent Coon, good to have you with us tonight. Thanks so much. Reminding us and the American people exactly what we are dealing with.
COON: Thank you.
SCHULTZ: Coming up, President Obama charged up an electric car plant today. But you're going to be shocked when I tell you how slow General Motors is in producing the electric car. The Volt. Detroit and the economy needs the government to get it in gear if they really are Obama Motors.
America's mayor Virg Bernero, Lansing Michigan, will sound off on that next, and job creation.
And RNC chairman Michael Steele makes his first public appearance since ticking off the entire party. His message is, quote, "I ain't going anywhere." Classy dude, huh?
All that plus Psycho Talker Sharron Angle's giving Harry Reid a run for his money because Harry, you're in disarray, buddy. You've got to get it together.
A solar powered airplane takes off. And O'Reilly, surprisingly, lies his way right into the Zone. It's all coming up on THE ED SHOW. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SCHULTZ: And coming up on THE ED SHOW, super-hot button number two. I'm sick and tired of all the talk and no action. Unemployed people in this country and no plan. I met them on the road. Folks are desperate. And these are desperate times, and call for desperate measures, unlike any other time.
The 99ers, people that have used up all of their benefits, have gone gone months on end with no hope in sight. This is absolutely unconscionable. It's time for the president, the senate majority leader, somebody to step up and pull in and grab the bull by the horns and get something done on this issue. I've got a full commentary coming up at the bottom of the hour. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: To our small business loans. And our focus on research and development. And our investment in hi-tech, fast-growing sectors like clean energy. We're helping to speed our recovery by harnessing the talent and the drive and the innovative spirit of the American people. If we hold fast to that spirit of entrepreneurship and innovation that's always defined America, we're not just going to emerge from this period of turmoil. We're going to emerge stronger than we were before.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: Welcome back to THE ED SHOW, and thanks for watching. That was President Obama out in Kansas City plugging his stimulus program during a visit to an electric truck plant. He spoke about the importance of electric vehicles in building America's future economy.
The president may want to convey that message to General Motors. GM is going to start selling the Chevy Volt electric car by the end of the year, but they're only planning to build 10,000 of them the first year in 2011. Nissan, big foreign competitor, expects to build at least twice as many of its new electric car.
If American car companies expect their electric cars to be competitive, they have to start cranking them out faster and faster. Let's just remember history here. From 1917 to 1923, Henry Ford and the Model T. They only made 15 million cars. So don't tell me we can't do more than 10,000 the first year the Volt comes out.
It is about oil running this country, and I don't think that we are serious about energy independence. We have the technology. We have the people to get the job done, and joining me now is mayor of Lansing, Michigan, Virg Bernero. Virg is also a candidate for governor in Michigan.
Virg, I don't want to go over the top here, but can Michigan do more than 10,000 electric cars in one year? What's happening here?
VIRG BERNERO, MAYOR, LANSING, MICHIGAN: Well, Ed, as usual you've got the guts to speak out about this. When you look at the subsidy for the oil industry of $40 billion a year, how about we take that subsidy, since they don't need it or deserve it a bit, and we put that into promoting electric cars?
We put that into subsidizing-We've heard of cash for clunkers, where we helped to subsidize foreign vehicles. How about cash for electric vehicles? And we take that $40 billion from the oil industry and put it into the auto industry.
We are on the cutting edge. I've said it from day one. Our auto industry, we have some of the best engineers and the most productive people anywhere here in the domestic American industry, and we're doing it, we're proving it.
But look. It's new technology, it's expensive, and the government should support it. The governments of other countries support their industry. This is an opportunity for us. This is an incredible opportunity, and I believe, a moral imperative, right now. Especially when we look at the incredible damage in the Gulf. This is the opportunity for us to seize the opportunity and promote our green industry.
We can make the cleaner greener cars. We're doing it now. But I do believe that the Americans are going to need some boost, because $40,000 right now for a new car in this economy is a lot for many Americans to swallow.
SCHULTZ: Yes. Even with the tax breaks and the credits, it's still $32,000. To most average working families, 32 grand over four or five years when it's financed, that's still a pretty healthy payment for folks when you see rising health care costs and education costs and what not.
But GM is going to build 30,000 by 2012. But they're still going to be outmanned, outgunned, and outproduced by a foreign competitor. Which bothers me, because it now plants the seed in our mind, "Well, there we go again. We're getting our ass kicked by the foreign manufacturers."
BERNERO: Absolutely.
SCHULTZ: What should the message be to the politicians on this story?
BERNERO: Well, and again, you're right. The politicians. Because it goes beyond the president to Congress. What is it they don't get about the need to change, to cleaner greener energy? And about the need to invest in domestic manufacturing? Whether you're talking about the cleaner, greener cars, or the wind turbines, or the solar panels.
We want Americans working. We want to put the "p" in GDP here in this country. So, if we're going to green, let's do it, and let's invest. Let's make the sacrifice.
You know, one thing the president didn't mention was fair trade. I appreciate what he's doing, I appreciate his $30 billion small business loan because Wall Street is once again killing us. They got help. Wall Street has sort of returned to normal, but not Main Street, because we can't get access to loans.
I recently found out, Ed, that even the state of Michigan has invested a billion dollars in JP Morgan, Chase. A billion dollars sitting there, and yet, they won't invest in us. They've red-lined Michigan, they've red-lined manufacturing. I'd like to get some of that money drawn back and put back into the states.
We need to do more in terms of domestic manufacturing, we need to target that and target green energy, make it a moral imperative. This is an Apollo moment. I really believe this is a chance for an Apollo-style commitment. When you see what's going wrong, what continues in the Gulf. And yet, we continue to subsidize that industry when we have a great industry, the auto industry, which has a great heritage and bright future, if we will invest in it now.
SCHULTZ: Virg Bernero, always a pleasure. Thanks for speaking out. It's about leadership, it's about people like you speaking out, speaking truth to power. I know that we can build a heck of a lot more than 10,000 electric cars in one year in this country because they did it the last century. Lots of decades ago.
BERNERO: Absolutely.
SCHULTZ: Virg, good to have you with us tonight. Thanks so much.
BERNERO: Thanks.
SCHULTZ: Bill O'Reilly is getting dizzy from the "Spin Zone" again. He says we at MSNBC, quote, "lie all the time." Well, I'm going to set him straight in the Zone. We'll do it live! Next in Psycho Talk.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SCHULTZ: And in Psycho Talk tonight, serial liar Bill O'Reilly. You know, he really does live in his own right wing world. Last night, he took an inaccurate cheap shot at this network.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BILL O'REILLY, "THE O'REILLY FACTOR": I mean they just blatantly lie every day, all right. People on MSNBC lie every day.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: Really? Every day? I don't think a guy from Fox News should be throwing around those kinds of accusations. Folks over there don't exactly have the market cornered on truth telling.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
O'REILLY: You don't know anybody on Fox News, because there hasn't been anyone, that said people go to jail if they don't buy mandatory insurance.
GLENN BECK, FOX NEWS HOST: If you don't get into their government health care, there will be jail time.
DICK MORRIS, GUEST ON FOX NEWS: You actually can go to jail.
RUSH LIMBAUGH, FOX NEWS GUEST: Puts people in jail.
SEAN HANNITY, FOX NEWS HOST: George Bush, who you work for, did not play golf while this country was at war.
DANA PERINO, FOX NEWS GUEST: We did not have a terrorist attack on our country during President Bush's term.
E.D. HILL, FORMER FOX NEWS ANCHOR: A fist bump, a pound, a terrorist fist jab?
STEVE DOOCY, FOX NEWS HOST: Barack Obama, raised as a Muslim --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE SPEAKER, FOX NEWS: He attended a Muslim school, a madrassa.
BRIAN KILMEADE, FOX NEWS HOST: Went to a madrassa --
DOOCY: He was educated in a madrassa.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: I didn't doctor the tape. Misleading viewers is what they do over there. Just about every day. So for O'Reilly to accuse MSNBC of lying without any proof, show us the tape. By the way, that is serious Psycho Talk.
Coming up, Brewer fever is spreading like wildfire. Three more states are moving towards harsh anti-immigration laws. I want to know what attorney general Eric Holder going to do to stop them. Rapid Fire Response to the panel coming up next on that.
And here's something you could keep, well, next to your nightstand. It might even keep you up at night thinking about this. Psycho Talker Michele Bachmann is becoming America's conservative darling. She is a money-raising machine. Watch out, Sarah Barracuda. I'll tell you all about it.
All that, plus the king makes his decision. Michael Steele rears his ugly head. And we're swapping spies with the Ruskies. You're watching THE ED SHOW on MSNBC. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ED SCHULTZ, "THE ED SCHULTZ SHOW" HOST: Welcome back to THE ED SHOW. The Battleground story tonight. Congress and the president need to do more to help the unemployed folk in this country. Now, I'm just not going to let this story go. These are difficult times and it's going to take some leadership. I've talked to these folks out on the road. They are desperate. The 99ers have gone for months on end with no hope in sight, they've been thrown to the side like road kill. And I can tell you what the problem is, it's with the Democratic Party. It's not just Ben Nelson who voted against extending unemployment benefits. It's Harry Reid. I have never in my life seen a senate majority leader all of a sudden become so obscure and so isolated. Harry, you are blowing it, buddy. You've got to get out there and fight for these folks. He could reinvent himself with his authority on this issue.
And it could come out passionately for the American people in need. Grab the moral high ground because it is a moral issue and let the American people see just who the republicans are and how they are on the wrong side of this issue again and again. No, I'm not running. But if I were, if I was a senator now, I would stand up and I would be absolutely screaming in front of every camera I could find. It is unconscionable what we are putting these Americans through, and I will tell you this. This is how third world countries get started when you start ignoring people. I can't understand why the democrats aren't pounding on this. And I think it will cost them in the midterms if they don't do something drastic about it.
Joining me now is Chuck Rocha, he is a union political consultant and also the head of solidarity strategies. Chuck, if the Congress and the White House, if they're getting the same e-mails I'm getting and if they're having the same conversations with Americans across the country that I had on a seven-city tour, I have to ask, what in the hell are they doing? How can they ignore these Americans? Where this is going down the road of a third world country? This is the issue what we're going to do with the unemployed. Tell me if I'm wrong.
CHUCK ROCHA, UNION POLITICAL CONSULTANT: You're exactly right, Ed. The American worker is the backbone of this economy. How can these people be turning their back. Our Congress on the people who built this country, the people that work hard every day and pay their taxes, and participate in their communities. It's ludicrous what's happening right now with our government turning their back on the people who are out there doing the work. Let me tell you this. I heard today that they're doing this because people are taking advantage of the system. When I was 19 years old, I went to work in a factory in East Texas.
I followed my father there, I worked there with my uncles and most of the kids I went to school with. It was a good job. We made a good product. We were there representing our community and paying our taxes. They shut the doors on that factory last year. They can import those tires, now used to be made in Tyler, Texas, by 800, 900 people. The people who paid the taxes in that community. Those people are now on unemployment benefits. They're turning their backs on people just like them who are trying to make a living in this country. That's what the Congress is doing.
SCHULTZ: Well, what are they supposed to do, go make windmills and solar panels? I keep hearing all this stuff. It's the credit markets. The credit is tight. You can't get your hands on money. There's a bunch of Wall Streeters that want to see this president fail and they're just going to ride this thing out and you're going to have Americans, the 99ers who aren't even statistically counted anymore. And there are four million of them. You have half, you have over seven million people in this country who have been unemployed for more than six months. And what does the Congress do? They say well, we have to listen to the constituents and a lot of these people who are lazy drug addicts and they really don't want to work, they're just gaming the system. This is outrageous what is happening in this country. And for every media person who out there who is not doing the story, you are in my opinion, abdicating your responsibility as a broadcaster because it is in the public interest to make sure that we do something to help Americans get back to work.
ROCHA: That's all that people want to do. They just want to get back to work. They want to have their jobs. You know, the Congress had plenty of money when we need to bail out Wall Street. They had plenty of money when we need to help everybody else out. But when the worker needs money, when it's not Wall Street, what about Main Street? Let's put these people back to work. Jobs is going to be the central focal point of this issue. Congress needs to wake up and understand that they need to put America back to work and these people are going to be important. They're not going to forget this 53,000 people a day are falling off the rolls and that don't count the one who have already left.
SCHULTZ: If we could just create 53,000 jobs a day. Chuck Rocha, thanks for speaking out buddy. Keep going after it.
ROCHA: Thank you, Ed. I appreciate you now brother.
SCHULTZ: You bet. Now, let's get some rapid fire response from our panel on these stories tonight. Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann, I wonder how she feels about the unemployed. Anyway, she is clobbering her democratic challenger in fund-raising so far this year. Bachmann has raised $1.7 million in the second quarter alone. That's in part to a fund raiser with Sarah Palin.
Three states, Utah, Oklahoma and South Carolina may follow in Arizona's footsteps pushing their own harsh anti-immigration laws. Great.
And Harry Reid refuses to quit reminding voters of Sharron Angle's fringe views. The Reid campaign is defying more threats from Sharron Angle's lawyers and posting her opinions from her old website again.
With us tonight, nationally syndicated radio talk show host, Bill Press. And also Ron Christie, Republican Strategist. Gentleman, great to have you with us. I want to offer this up to both of you. Michele Bachmann is the rising star in my opinion because she says stuff. And in the talk radio and talk television culture, people who say stuff can raise money. Ron Christie, your thoughts.
RON CHRISTIE, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Well, I agree with you, Ed. She says stuff that a lot of Americans resonate with. She thinks that the size of the government is far too big. She thinks that we should have our personal liberties and our freedoms. She organized a rally on Capitol Hill a few months ago where thousands of Americans, patriots came to have their voices heard on Capitol Hill. I think that's a great thing, whether it's a republican, whether it's a democrat, whether we can get people involved in our democracy, particularly in these tough economic times, I think that's a very strong thing.
SCHULTZ: Well, the stuff I was referring to is the outline of the psycho talking stuff that she does. That's why she's raising money. Bill Press, what do you think?
CHRISTIE: You know, I wasn't saying that, Ed.
(LAUGHTER)
BILL PRESS, RADIO SHOW HOST: Ed, you are absolutely right. Listen, with the Republican Party the crazier you are today, the more attention you get, the more money you raise. Look at Rand Paul, look at Sarah Palin. Look at Michele Bachmann. You know, I mean, this is a woman who said, she was talking about the shakedown before Joe Barton was. I mean, she's the first one out there with it. Let me tell you something, Ed. You know what also impresses me is that Tarryl Clark challenging Michele Bachmann has raised two million bucks, more than any other challenger with no help from Sarah Palin, no help from any big-time democrat, just small donors out there all over the country. I think she's going to give Michele Bachmann a run for her money.
SCHULTZ: She might giver her a run. But the point here is that Michele Bachmann now has got deep pockets because she is somewhat of a national figure.
(CROSSTALK)
SCHULTZ: The second quarter numbers are very clear. She's being outgunned two to one, $1.7 million to $910,000. I mean, does this make her a national figure, Ron? I mean, does she have national potential? What do you think?
CHRISTIE: I think she does have national potential. I think, she's a very articulate, very smart, very strong, very attractive woman in the Republican Party. She has a great future. Look, Ed, you guys can sit and take pot shots at her and talk about her extreme views. The fact of the matter is that 40 percent of the American people identify themselves as being conservative. Twenty percent identify themselves as being liberal. She's more in the mainstream than where you guys are.
SCHULTZ: Wait a minute, Ron...
(CROSSTALK)
CHRISTIE: She is a great voice to the concerns of a lot of Americans.
SCHULTZ: Wait.
(ALL TALKING OVER EACH OTHER)
SCHULTZ: Time-out. OK, I'm calling time-out on this one. All right. Bill Press, is she in the mainstream?
PRESS: No, I mean, come on, she is so far to the right. But you know what, it does a trio here, you got Sarah Palin, you got Michele Bachmann, you got Marshall Blackburn and now you got Sharron Angle, actually throw her into the mix at all. It's hard to know which one is nuttier. But of course, they get all the attention. None of them, not one of them could win nationwide but they are national characters.
SCHULTZ: All right. Three states, Utah, Oklahoma and South Carolina are now talking about tough anti-immigration laws paralleling that of Arizona. Bill Press, your thoughts on this. And what is Eric Holder is going to sue every state or what?
PRESS: Hey, Ed. No surprise. You know what? This is a problem. Of course, Arizona passes this law, other states are going to do so. If Congress doesn't act, we could end up with 50 different platforms if you will for immigration around the country. The constitution says, it's a federal responsibility. Congress has to act. Republicans have to get with the program.
SCHULTZ: All right. What do you think, Ron?
CHRISTIE: Hey, here's something where I agree with Bill Press. Congress needs to act. Congress needs to act. This is pathetic. The Arizona law isn't harsh and isn't mainstream. It mirrors federal law.
SCHULTZ: You don't think it fits the table for profiling?
CHRISTIE: Ed, you remember very carefully when this law first came out.
(CROSSTALK)
SCHULTZ: Law enforcement says, it sets the table for profiling.
CHRISTIE: Ed, you remember when this first came out, I said, I thought it was discriminatory in the states and I didn't support it.
SCHULTZ: Yes.
CHRISTIE: You remember the amendments that came through where it was specifically race neutral? I can support that. But here's the thing. If the federal government and this administration...
SCHULTZ: How can reasonable-how can reasonable suspicion be neutral?
CHRISTIE: Excuse me.
PRESS: It's not race neutral, Ron.
(CROSSTALK)
CHRISTIE: Excuse me, gentlemen. Wait a second. Let's try the two against one, gentlemen. Let me say something here. What this law specifically says is that if there is reasonable suspicion and probable cause for someone to be pulled over for potentially violating the law in that stop, they can be asked for their legal status. You can be asked for you legal status right now. But with the pathetic thing, let me finish Bill, what is pathetic is that there are sanctuary cities around this country. The federal government if they want to start suing people, they should sue San Francisco because they defy federal immigration law and they have sanctuary cities.
SCHULTZ: All right. What about you Bill Press?
PRESS: Filibuster. Filibuster. Filibuster. Look, they're not going to stop me. You know that. They're not going to think that I came from Mexico. It is racial profiling, Ron. You can't deny it.
CHRISTIE: It's racially neutral on its face, Bill. The democrats are trying to demagogue on this issue and they're trying to get Hispanics to vote for them saying oh, we're fighting for you. We're Americans. We bleed red, white and blue. We don't need brown, black and white.
SCHULTZ: All right, gentlemen. By the way, Ron, it's not two against you. OK? I just like talking to you.
CHRISTIE: I love you, Ed.
(LAUGHTER)
SCHULTZ: Coming up.
CHRISTIE: Take care, gentlemen.
SCHULTZ: Thanks. Coming up hours from now, LeBron James, well, he will finally tell the world, where he's going to be playing basketball next year. All of a sudden, everyone is so worried about losing jobs in Cleveland. Not even the chosen one was able to fix it. It's next in my Playbook. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SCHULTZ: Welcome back to MSNBC. Breaking news at this hour. An appeals court just denied, the United States government's bid to keep offshore drilling moratorium. And it's still not too late, of course to let us know what you think on our text question tonight or our poll question tonight. The number to dial is 1-877-ed-msnbc. Tonight's telephone survey question is, who does BP really care about? Press the number one for shareholders, press the number two for residents of the gulf. Again, the number to dial is 1-877-ed-msnbc. We're right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SCHULTZ: And in my Playbook tonight, big sports story across the world. LeBron James will reveal his big decision in just a few hours. And I know I'm in the minority here but I've got to say, I really don't care where he plays basketball. I think he's a nice guy, he's a great player but what difference does it make. I will give the guy a lot of credit. He is playing this thing exactly the right way. Concentrating on what he does best and surrounding himself with people who really know how to play the image game. NBA needs this. He has milked this opportunity to the max.
What gets to me though is that all this talk about jobs in Cleveland, that they're going to lose because LeBron is going to be leaving town if that's what he chooses to do. Ohio has been losing manufacturing jobs for decades. But now that a basketball player is possibly leaving, all these sports talkers out there and, of course, he has the right to do that because it is the free market and all these right wing sports talkers out there, they just love the fact that this is going to happen but they hate the fact that these jobs are going to be lost. Look, the guy's staying in America. He's not going to China. That's the good news. LeBron James, heck of a player. And a class act in many respects.
For more, let's bring in this gentleman on LeBron's decision, and that is Darren Rovell, CNBC's Sports Business reporter. What do you make of this?
DARREN ROVELL, CNBC'S SPORTS BUSINESS REPORTER: You're exactly right. The fact that people are talking about losing jobs. About 90 percent of fans live within 30 miles of the arena. What do they do? They go to games. They eat there. They drink there. And they go home. The fact-the only thing that Cleveland has been boosted by here is maybe the fact that people feel better about the name Cleveland or the city Cleveland because LeBron helped turn it into Hollywood. An image that they never had. But from the financial aspect of Cleveland and losing jobs, the sports team always benefited. They sucked up all the money. Everything else on the outside, they didn't really benefit. And they won't really lose.
SCHULTZ: Where do you think he's going to go?
ROVELL: Well, I mean, this has been one of these things where even in today's society where supposedly everyone talks, LeBron obviously has a team that is not talking. I mean, a week ago, it was definitely the Chicago Bulls. Then two days later, it was definitely the Miami Heat and yesterday, Wall Street all thought voting with MSG's stock that he was definitely going to the New York Knicks and this morning, he was leaning towards the Miami Heat. So, I will say it's between the Miami Heat and the Cleveland Cavaliers, despite the fact that the Chicago Bulls is probably the best team for him.
SCHULTZ: And Darren, have you ever seen a young athlete make such a smart move of surrounding himself with people that have played this to the max? It's pretty cool.
ROVELL: Well, he's played it to the max but I will say there's a lot of criticism, is this too much? Is this too pocus? Is this too egotistical? There are always critics as you know.
SCHULTZ: But he is helping the boys and girls clubs of America.
ROVELL: $2.5 million, he'll donate from the proceeds of the aids.
SCHULTZ: That's works. Darren, good to have you with us. Thanks so much.
ROVELL: Thanks for having me.
SCHULTZ: Couple of final pages in our Playbook tonight. The first night flight by a solar-powered plane was completed today after 26 hours in the air. The plane flew over Switzerland and it was powered by four electric motors, it flew at night by saving energy from 12,000 solar cells. The plane reached an altitude of 28,000 feet with an average speed of 26 miles per hour. The pilot, a 57-year-old former Swiss Air Force pilot said, it was the most incredible flight of his flying career, I'd say.
The largest spy swap between the United States and Russia since the cold war is under way. Ten Russian spies arrested over a week ago made an appearance in court today and pled guilty. They are expected to be deported to Russia within hours. Two Obama administration sources told the associated press, the Russian government will in return release four people, a swap would be a key step in repairing ties between the United States and Russia.
And finally, there's something really ugly going on in Bismarck, North Dakota. The obscene poster, this obscene post is hanging on a wall under the picture of the President of the United States, President Obama in the Public Service Commission building. We can't show the-we can't show the full picture because this is a family show, but the caption of the poster reads, "Thanks Obama, you've spent my lunch money, my allowance, my inheritance, 35 years of future paychecks and my retirement. You expletive."
Republican Public Service Commissioner Kevin Cramer calls this free speech. I think it's disgusting and embarrassing to the state. I want Republican Governor John Hoeven who by the way is the favorite to become North Dakota's next senator to step out and denounce this dark vision and demand that the public service commission show a little class and respects. But of course, Hoeven has been the empty suit before. Maybe he'll change if he does get in the senate. It is about character and it's a bad reflection on the state. Coming up, tell me the rumors are true. Sarah Palin's out with a new video and it looks to me like she, this is her first campaign commercial with 2012, but she might have to beat out Michael Steele. He came out of hiding today. That's next. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAEL STEELE, REPUBLICAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN: I'm here.
I'm here. Look, we have too much work to do. We have too much work to do.
We've turned a lot of corners and this party has found its footing. It's
re-anchored itself in core principles. It's focused to the future with a
sense of purpose.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: Really? Did you see the two guys behind him right there?
They weren't very enthusiastic when he said, he's not going anywhere. Michael Steele is back, he showed up at Aspen Ideas Festival to tell folks that he's not going anywhere. But should he run for president? The "Politico" got a lot of people talking today with that headline. And Steele is not the only high profile psycho talking republican who is feeling rumors of a presidential run today. Sarah Palin's got a new web video that looks like, well, a whole lot like a 2012 test balloon.
For more, let's bring in Bob Shrum, democratic strategist and professor at New York University. All right. Both of these characteristics get a lot of publicity. Let's talk, Michael Steele first, he's had a lot of conservatives, high profile folks who get a lot of airtime say, he should step down. He goes to this festival and says, I'm not going anywhere. What do you make of it?
BOB SHRUM, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Well, he's not going anywhere except out of office right after the election. Republicans are hoping they can put a band-aid over his mouth between now and then, get through this without anything that's catastrophic and then when they come to the election in the next republican national chairman, he'll simply be gone.
SCHULTZ: OK. What about Sarah Palin? Is this a shift? It's time for these shenanigans to end before it's going to be serious. What do you make of this web video?
SHRUM: Well, you know, when I hear people talking about Sarah Palin for president, Michael Steele for president, I can only say from their lips to the republican convention's ear. I mean, this would be the best thing that could happen to Barack Obama and the democrats. Sarah Palin I've always thought was seriously interested in running for president. She represents a movement. She is about two or three to one unpopular in the general electorate but she has a hard-core in the Republican Party and that hard-core could conceivably take her to the nomination.
SCHULTZ: Do you think she wants to do it? Do you think that this has been the mission all along?
SHRUM: I think she wants to do it. Listen, I've hardly known anyone in all these years and either party who's gotten even remotely close to being president or vice president who doesn't think about doing it again. She has the resources, she has the folks behind her unlike Michael Steele. And by the way, that article which was written in "Politico" today by Roger Simon is clearly satire. And only Michael Steele could take himself seriously as a possible presidential candidate.
SCHULTZ: And quickly, Bob, how big a play is President Obama going to have in the midterms? Does he have coat tails?
SHRUM: Oh, I think he's going to have to develop coat tails. He's got to go out there, he's got to set the message, he's got to tell people we know you're still hurting. We've done some things. We have a lot more to do. But don't turn this over to people who are going to side with the special interests. Who are going to stand up for the powerful, not for you. He has to make that case. Because if democrats just have to run this as a series of local races, my old phrase for it is, when you say you're localizing the contests, you're going to lose a lot of them.
SCHULTZ: Bob Shrum, always a pleasure. Great to have you with us.
SHRUM: Thank you, Ed.
SCHULTZ: Tonight, our phone survey, I asked, who does BP really care about? Ninety eight percent say, the shareholders. Two percent say, the residents of the gulf. That's THE ED SHOW. We'll see you tomorrow night. "HARDBALL" with Chris Matthews is next.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
END
Copyright 2010 Roll Call, Inc. All materials herein are protected by
United States copyright law and may not be reproduced, distributed,
transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast without the prior written
permission of Roll Call. You may not alter or remove any trademark,
copyright or other notice from copies of the content.>